Glass
by mhazaru
Summary: Nozomi deals with Harue after their loss in the semi-finals. One-shot.


**Author's Notes**

Hello!

I'm so excited about the upcoming manga with Harue and her old teammates, that I had to get this out of my system! I plan to write something more involved with them in the future.

Thanks for reading! If you'd like a better quality version of the cover, it's in my profile.

~mhazaru

* * *

**Glass**

I could see her in the dark of the night. A mix of city and moonlight was splashing through one of the hotel windows, illuminating her as she sat on the far edge of her bed. That had always been a peculiar habit of hers, to have at least one window that wasn't blocked by any blinds or curtains.

Oh, what time is it by the way...?

...ah, a little after midnight. I've been asleep for an hour, I think. I wonder why I woke up...

Ha, right...

How could I forget?

The nationals.

It's over. We're out.

I guess it's bothering me even in my sleep. Yeah, I'm pretty depressed...but I'll get over it.

But, as for her...

...

Did she go to sleep at all? I don't know. To be honest, I don't know how she could.

She had looked terrible after the loss, hadn't really wanted to talk to anyone.

She just wanted to be alone.

She...

...ah, here I go.

Just as usual.

...

I had gotten up from my bed, and started walking over towards hers.

It's strange, but sometimes when I'm with her, I don't know...

...I just do things without thinking about them.

"...go back to sleep, Nozomi."

There was anger in her voice, which wasn't all that unexpected, given that she had been our captain in the semi-finals. But for someone like her, a display of a genuine temper just never really seemed to fit her image.

I sat down next to her.

"_Go back to sleep."_

Her irritation was growing fast now, strands of her crimson hair flying about as she shouted, glinting so wonderfully in the moonlight.

...

...I had always loved her hair.

It was just the perfect shade of red to me. Not too saturated, not too flat.

And the way that she styled it...it accented it so well: it was cut above her shoulders, groomed with an incredible flair that was as audacious as its color.

...and as her.

Yeah, that was her in a nutshell, to be honest.

Audacious.

Stylish.

Suave...

...and always so cool.

_"Nozomi..."_

"Sorry, Harue...just forgive me this once, alright?"

"...I don't want to hear another speech about cheering up."

"Hey, I wasn't going to do an-"

"_I've had to hear the same damn thing a hundred damn times now from a hundred different people, so I don't want to hear it again._"

Harue was yelling into my face now, her breath striking my skin. "Hey, hey! That wasn't my plan. I just couldn't sleep, so I figured I might as well get a nice view of Tokyo while I'm up. Really, it's not fair that you always get the bed closest to the windows."

The sheets tensed up underneath me, Harue gripping them tightly. "_Why do you always joke around with stuff like this? Why can't you ever just listen to me for once? Leave me the hell alone._"

I hope our teammates in the rooms next to ours weren't hearing any of this, because it was definitely loud enough to go through the walls. "Come on, lighten up a little here, I'm ju-"

"_Nozomi..." _

She gripped my arm, squeezing it.

...and then quickly let go.

...

Even in this dim light, I could still see her startled face.

"Hey..." I chuckled, clapping my hands. "Let's just enjoy the scenery right now! Forget the game, Harue...we're here in Tokyo! Let's just make the most of it while we're still here. You don't get a chance to see a great view like this every night. Am I right?"

She didn't respond, just looking at me stupidly. Eventually though, she joined me in watching the world though the window, of the thousands of colored lights that were sprinkled everywhere on the other side of it. Our room wasn't that high up in the hotel, but we were still granted a large, wonderful glimpse of the city after dark.

Yeah, it really was wonderful...

...

We watched it all for...oh, I don't know how long. A while, I guess. "...do you think you can sleep now, Harue?"

"...yeah."

Her voice was much calmer now, the anger all but gone from it, just a few lingering strands of bleakness left.

Ah well, same ol' Harue.

It was all clockwork, really.

Always the same routine.

I laughed and patted her shoulder. "Awesome. Well, I'm gonna' hit the hay again, then. Just don't think about it for now, Harue, because you need to sleep. Got me?"

"...I got you."

"Alright, then! Good night."

"Good night."

I smiled at her, even though she didn't see it, her stare set to the ground.

But, that's fine. It didn't matter.

She'd be ok now.

I got up, stretched my arms out a bit, and then began to walk back to my bed.

"Nozomi."

Oh?

That's a first.

I stopped in my tracks, but I didn't turn to face her.

No, that would have been stupid.

...

I had a feeling as to what she wanted to do to me now.

What she did to everyone, whenever she played mahjong, whenever she wanted to know more about you.

Whenever she chose the moment, at which she wanted to see through your hand...

"...why don't you ever get upset with me, Nozomi?"

I resumed the walk back to my bed. "What are you talking about?" I laughed. "I'm always upset with you, Harue."

"...look, I..." She paused.

"...Harue, you're feeling better, right?"

"Nozomi...that's not the po-"

"Just get to sleep, then. Remember: even though we're out, it's still going to be a big day tomorrow. You're gonna' have to do a lot of interviews as club president, so get some rest, ok?"

Another moment of hesitation on her part. "...ok, Nozomi."

I chuckled again, getting under my covers.

She's so funny. She'll try her best to sleep now.

She loves to listen to me.

She alway-

_...ow._

_..._

I held my arm where Harue had grabbed it. She must have been even more furious than I had first thought.

More furious than I've ever remembered her being before, because it really hurt.

My arm hurts...

...

...well, whatever.

All that matters is that she's fine for now, after she got it all out.

I'm glad that she didn't apologize for getting mad, either.

I had told her a long time ago to never do that to me, because I hated to hear it.

It just doesn't suit someone like her.

And I never mind her getting angry with me anyway, so long as I'm the only one who ever gets to see that side of her.

The only person whom she'll ever allow to see it...

...

...and that makes me more happy than anything.

So, I don't care.


End file.
